Six Solutions To Food Waste At Your Event

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Food wastage is a huge issue in the events industry that is often overlooked. We may not be able to eradicate 100% of our waste, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try. Things need to change as records report we are putting 7 million tonnes of food waste into landfill. This impacts our environment but also throwing out good food is a wasted opportunity for solving world hunger and companies with much waste can be seen as unethical and hence receive a bad image.

As an Event Organiser it is important to consider food wastage as they can be seen to be aligning their sustainability initiatives to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals which is good for the planet, this goes on the point of future survival being vital and we must lean towards sustainability and reducing food wastage at all costs. How one may ask, well read on to find the best solutions that you can start incorporating into your events.

Create New Products – Reason 6

For those working on all day conference events, the food that is served at lunch (untouched of course) can be remade into a new dish for dinner, for example the additional vegetables could be made into a soup or the meat that is left could be incorporated into a pasta or enchilida dish. For an events manager clear communication must be given to the catering team in advance that they plan to make the event one of which zero waste is produced.

Resell On Instead Of Throw Away – Reason 5

Some food items last past best before dates and being able to recognise that can save a company big bucks. Instead of throwing out products, think about selling them at a marked down cost to your customers, this may of course be detrimental as consumers may then associate the food as ugly. If you wish to not do this suggestion, think about reaching out to providers such as Mark King Wholesale Foods that could buy old stock off you and do it for you. The benefits of this approach is that your goods reach a demographic that vary from your original target audience, in turn increasing your brand exposure, this is great especially if the stock was to normally go in the bin.

The Act Of Giving – Reason 4

In the modern era, due to the local rising of costs and the detrimental impact of inflation and Covid, we have seen a rise in those living below the poverty line. You could think of donating additional produce to local food banks and charities or giving to local homeless residents. If money is still on the agenda or you wish to raise your public image, you may wish to set up a collaboration with Olio Or To Good To Go.

Cook Less, Feed More – Reason 3

Obesity Is on the rise, do we really need to be feeding consumers all of this food, especially when they may not even eat all of the food. By ordering less food and cooking smaller meals not only are you reducing the risk of increasing a customers waist circumference, but you are also impressingly reducing the cost per head. If the event is an annual one and trends in the past indicate how much food was used, look into these statistics to help plan the quantity of food to be ordered. The downfall of too small portion sizes are unhappy customers.

Compost – Reason 2

On occasion it is very hard to reuse food, so perhaps think of growing a compost garden. This approach has many benefits, besides being good for the environment, it can also lead to increased morale for staff as it shows staff what their hard efforts can achieve, and also teaches them about the importance of nature, education really is key. If your premises do not have space for compost, consider reaching out to local premises such as a school who would be happy to take the waste to grow their own compost in their vegetable gardens.

Less Plastic, More Fish – Reason 1

Plastic makes its way into the oceans, suffocating our little friends and causing damage to many sealife and water animals from ducks to turtles. Knowing this we should urge for a zero plastic event, use reusable cups for water, have attendees scan in through their phone instead of a printed ticket and make sure the cutlery used by attendees is reusable. Consider even going completely plastic free through the purchase of biodegradable packaging products.

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